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Monday, March 12, 2018

Something new: Shazam! aka the original Captain Marvel! Those who grew up in the 70s / 80s should remember the cartoon featuring this guy. I created an updated version of him, showing him as an adult superhero.

I started this custom over 1 month ago. Turned out that it was taking more time and effort than I expected, so he'sbeen sitting on the sidelines for a long time. Yet the final product looks majestic & cool, so I'm pleased. Plus the Shazam film starring Zachary Levi is slated to be released in 2019.

Truthfully this tough guy should be just as strong as Superman, if not stronger. Yet it is wise to note that the history of the Ownership Rights of this character have a long twisted story… Shazam [aka Billy Batson] was created back in 1940 and he was actually the property of Fawcett Comics, not National / DC Comics… you can do your research on that stuff via Wikepdia.

Hell, this is my blog, so I'll tell you some of the old story: The copyright infringement court case was sponsored by National Comics [DC Comics] and it was tied to jealousy / greed, since Shazam was the #1 selling comic book in the 1940s, beating out sales of Superman who was introduced in 1938. But the thing is, their origins and costumes were totally different. And Shazam could fly, while Superman could not. Take a look at the toy pics below and compare the two characters. One of them was even known for wearing goddamn red speedos on top of his blue tights back then, for cryin' out loud!! How the hell could they be full copies of one another??
- Sigh - American greed... DC Comics did win the lawsuit in an appeal, which forced Fawcett Comics to shut down. And they paid DC roughly $400,000 in damages for "copying Superman". But DC eventually bought the rights to Shazam back in the 70s, and they fully owned the Shazam / Captain Marvel character library in the 90s... But what they originally did to a smaller comic company, simply because they had the money, just wasn't right. Yet even big companies eventually reap what they've sown...

Anyway, you're alive and here so Smile!! And I still made this cool custom toy Damn It!!!!! :)
The base body was Marvel Legends Red Guardian. I sculpted his gauntlets and the lightning bolt on his chest, his belt, the sash, plus a back-plate [not seen because of the cape], and also his new hair style & stylish beard, while his basic face came from ML WonderMan. His fists came from Ironman, while his knee-pads were sculpted. His cape was customized from Lady Thor, while the short chain is from Thundra’s weapon. Tamiya acrylics were used, hand painted. Two early pre-paint samples are also shown below. Enjoy and Share!

The second article showing the head sculpt / hair sculpting details for my Shazam toy is over HERE!